


Time Travel Tenderness

by Aria_Lerendeair



Series: Magnus Bane Birthday Bash 2019 [11]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Future Malec Meets Past Magnus, Hurt/Comfort, Immortal Husbands, M/M, Meet Ugly-Ish, Memory Alteration, Post-Camille Breakup Magnus, cuteness, time travel fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria_Lerendeair/pseuds/Aria_Lerendeair
Summary: When future Magnus and Alec are yanked into the past, they have the chance to meet a Magnus from the past, one that is fresh off his break up with Camille.  Alec gets the chance to offer this Magnus some much-needed comfort.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Magnus Bane Birthday Bash 2019 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666054
Comments: 42
Kudos: 612
Collections: Favorite Malec Stories, Malec Favorites





	Time Travel Tenderness

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by Anonymous for the Magnus Bane Birthday Bash: MB3 - Malec, post canon accidental time travel to post-Camille, and is like, I can't say too much but hang on, you'll meet your future husband later?

Magnus sat up abruptly as the air crackled around him and suddenly filled with _presence_ and his skin crawled. He dragged magic around his hands, even as the thoughts came unbidden that maybe this was how he was meant to die, by some stranger forcing their way into his home, and then at least he wouldn’t have to think of _her_ any longer and-

  
“Alexander? Are you with me?” 

  
“Fuck,” Alec groaned, pushing himself off the uncomfortable couch he’d landed on. "I definitely have a few bruised ribs.“

  
"I’ll be right there, hold on.” 

  
Magnus blinked at the sound of what seemed like his own voice and lit a flame in his palm, striding towards the voices he could hear at the other end of the house. "Show yourselves!“ he demanded. 

  
Alec froze and stared at the sight of Magnus standing in the doorway to the room they’d landed in, dragging his eyes slowly back to his husband standing a few feet from him. He catalogued the differences briefly - the different hair, demeanor, speech pattern. Strangely similar taste in clothing. 

  
"Magnus?” Alec called, carefully climbing off the couch, his eyes on the warlock standing in the doorway. "That’s you, right?“ 

  
Magnus blinked and stared at the younger version of him, and the magic that was carefully gathering in his palms. "Yes, about three or four centuries younger, unless I miss my guess.” 

  
Alec glanced back at his husband and grinned. "You’ve really rocked the same fashion sense for _centuries_?“

  
Magnus narrowed his eyes. "Hush, now.” 

  
“Both of you will tell me what you are doing in my home, and how you got through my wards, and then you’ll be leaving,” Magnus snapped, glaring at the two strangers, especially the one wearing his own face. "I don’t appreciate the joke you’re trying to play.“ 

  
Alec took a deep breath and glanced back at Magnus. "We got…actually.” He paused and turned to face his Magnus. "What did happen?“

  
Magnus sighed and looked at himself standing across the house and looked around, taking a deep breath. "I think that we got thrown into the past. I can feel the present pulling at us. We’ll snap back soon enough.” 

  
Alec nodded and relaxed. "That’s good. In the meantime?“

  
"In the meantime,” Magnus said, looking at the version of him still staring at the both of them in suspicion. "I think we need to convince myself that we don’t mean any harm. And since I have no memory of this interaction, I think we’re going to be wiping his memories when we leave too.“

  
"You will do no such thing,” Magnus snarled, glaring at them both, gathering magic in his hands. "I would no sooner let you touch my memories than I would-“

  
"Ah,” Magnus whispered, stepping closer. "I know when we are.“ 

  
Alec blinked at him. "You do?” 

  
Magnus nodded and glanced back at Alec sadly. "Shortly after Camille.“ 

  
"Don’t mention her name in my presence!” Magnus snapped, his magic flaring red in his anger. 

  
“See?” 

  
Alec huffed. "Gives me another reason to hate her, as far as I’m concerned. She should have died much slower than she-“ he winced and looked towards the other Magnus. "Fuck, wasn’t supposed to say that.” 

  
Magnus studied the two strangers in his home and blinked in surprise. "Camille is dead?“ 

  
Alec raised a hand. "If you promise not to hit me with magic, I’ll even tell you how.” 

  
“Alexander!” 

  
“What?” Alec said, looking at him. "He’s not going to remember this, you don’t, so clearly we get him to trust us.“ 

  
"Let’s start with you telling me who the hell you are, Nephilim,” Magnus growled, his eyes catching on the deflect rune. His eyes narrowed. 

  
Alec turned to his Magnus and smiled. "We get to tell him, right?“ 

  
Magnus bit down on his lip. "I don’t know that hearing it is going to help.” 

  
“Worth trying?” Alec offered. 

  
Magnus shrugged and looked to his past self. He let his glamour drop and watched his own eyes widen. "You try to hurt him and I’ll make sure that you regret it.“ 

  
"Are you really threatening your past self on my behalf?” Alec asked, amused. He shook his head and turned his attention to the other Magnus who was still staring at him in suspicion. "Ignore him, you apparently get possessive in your old age.“ 

  
"Old?” Magnus sputtered. 

  
“Possessive?” Magnus asked, tilting his head as he studied the shadowhunter. "What do you mean?“

  
Alec took a deep breath and held up his hand with the ring on it, gesturing for his Magnus to do the same. "I mean that in the future, you’re my husband, and you’re a bit of a possessive bastard. I mean, I love it, and I’m just as possessive-”

  
“I’ll say,” Magnus muttered. 

  
Alec gave his husband a look and continued. "So it works out perfectly well. But yes, that’s who I am. My name is Alec, Alexander Lightwood.“ 

  
Magnus raised both of his eyebrows and glanced between the both of them. "I marry a _Lightwood_? You two must be crazy, the time travel has clearly addled you. There is no world in which the most prestigious of shadowhunter families would ever allow a downworlder-”

  
“Actually,” Alec said with a bit of a grin. "There was no allowing at all. Everything we have, we’ve taken.“ He gestured to his Magnus. "He crashed my first wedding, and I walked off the altar and proceeded to kiss him in front of the entire senior Clave assembly present.” 

  
Magnus’ eyes widened. "You did?“ 

  
"He did,” Magnus confirmed, his eyes shining as he met Alec’s. "It was…“ he swallowed and glanced at himself. "It was one of the first times I was picked. Truly picked.” 

  
Alec stepped closer to his Magnus, pressing their foreheads together. "I’ll always pick you, you know that, right?“ He put his palm to the alliance rune over Magnus’ heart and breathed out slowly. 

  
"You really…” Magnus trailed off, watching the two of them, how they stood together that spoke of long familiarity. "How strange.“ 

  
Magnus glanced at himself and the wistful look on his face. He offered another smile. "It’s less strange than you think. We both fell for each other so quickly, it felt more inevitable than anything else.” 

  
“What else can you tell me?” Magnus demanded. 

  
Alec blew out a hard breath. "Will you let us erase your memories?“ 

  
Magnus considered the shadowhunter. "Us? Last I checked, there was no rune that allowed for such a thing.” 

  
Magnus looked to Alec and then back to himself. "It would be us. We…well. It’s perhaps best if Alexander explains.“ 

  
Alec held up his hand and summoned Magnus’ magic to his fingertips. "We share a rune. It allows us to share blood. Magnus has some Nephilim blood and I carry enough demon blood to use his magic, and…”

  
“And?” Magnus whispered, staring at the magic, at _his_ magic curled around the Nephilim’s fingertips. He knew what his magic looked like, and he could feel it from here, how content and happy his magic was to be doing what it was. His stomach twisted. How had he managed to find this? 

  
“And it lets me share your forever,” Alec said, his voice quiet but certain as he stared down Magnus. “It was something I wanted as soon as I knew I could have it.” 

  
Magnus froze, staring at the Nephilim in front of him, his mind racing at the quiet, seemingly easy confession. He shook his head and took a step back. “You don’t know what you’ve done, you don’t know what you’ve locked yourself into, you’ll regret it, you’ll hate me, you’ll grow to hate me and it’ll break me…” 

  
“ _Magnus,_ ” Alec interrupted, stepping closer, reaching out to touch the warlock who was still shaking his head. He offered a small smile when the warlock stared at him in shock. “Ask me how old I am.” 

  
Magnus sucked in a breath at the question, his whole body starting to tremble at the implication this Nephilim from the future gave with his quiet statement. “I…” 

  
“It’s okay,” Alec whispered, carefully cupping Magnus’ shoulders in his hands. “Ask me.” 

  
“How old are you?” Magnus whispered back, his heart pounding hard enough, wildly enough, for it to be heard in the quiet room. “How long have you been with me?” 

  
“Well,” Alec said with a quick grin. “There’s a bit of a debate between us about whether it’s two hundred and twelve or two hundred and thirteen due to some time in the fae realm-” 

  
“It’s two hundred and twelve,” Magnus interrupted with an eyeroll. 

  
Alec snorted and turned his attention back to the Magnus standing in front of him. “It’s definitely two hundred and thirteen, he hadn’t paid attention to time for decades back then, I was still counting.” 

  
“I heard that!” 

  
Alec smiled and focused on Magnus again. “Two hundred plus years. Some of them have been easier than others. The ah,” he swallowed. “The few years after I lost my parabatai and sister were hard. But you were there, holding my hand.” 

  
Magnus stared in shock, his mind swimming. He, he was wanted? Not just for an evening, a month, or even the length of a human life time. Someone wanted him enough to spend centuries with him? 

  
“Alexander, the pull is getting stronger. We need to erase his memories,” Magnus called, gathering magic around his fingertips. 

  
“Wait, wait,” Magnus scrambled, reaching out to clutch at the shadowhunter in front of him, glad when he was immediately steadied. “Don’t go yet, please, I can’t…” 

  
“You can,” Alec whispered, reaching out to cup Magnus’ face in his hands. “You are the strongest person I know. You are going to survive this pain, and you are going to become the amazing high warlock I fall in love with more every day.” 

  
Magnus swallowed, watching his other self step closer and he tried not to tremble. He looked at himself and the cat eyes that were staring back at him with understanding. “It’s worth it?” 

  
“Every single minute of struggle, hurt, and pain? It’s worth it in ways you can’t even begin to imagine,” Magnus whispered. 

  
Alec leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Magnus’ forehead. “I love you, Magnus Bane. I’m waiting for you. Make it to me, all right?” 

  
Magnus clenched his eyes shut, the gentle touch and words undoing him. He felt the gentle, probing touch of his own magic, and then the hands and presence were gone from around him and he blinked slowly, looking around the room. He pressed a hand to his chest and frowned. 

  
He’d moped enough over _her._ Perhaps it was time to spend a few decades with Ragnor and see where Catarina had run to. It was a much better use of his time, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

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